Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer sat around the house with their female pets. They would usually be at the junkyard but they slowly began going to the junkyard less and less the further along that Rumpel became. At first she didn’t think that it would stop her any, after all she was the first pregnant cat she came in contact with but soon the ‘Motherly Instincts’ had kicked in and she’d stay at home to rest. She’d encourage Mungo to go to Junkyard whenever he could so that they didn’t have the whole tribe stopping by for an update; but most of the time he wasn’t far away from his mate.
“Do you think she’s up to something?” Olivia asked her mother as she watched Rumpelteazer. “She’s so affectionate lately.”
Rumpelteazer continued to brush up against Olivia’s leg, purring. Olivia reached down and Rumpel jumped in to her arms, nuzzling her face. She could hear Mungojerrie purring happily from the other side of the room as Lydia played with him. Rumpel licked the human’s face lovingly, before nuzzling it again.
“It’s a hormone rush ‘Livie.” Rumpel purred. “Jenny said that I would have one and you’re the lucky one that I chose to share it with. Now, you may pet me, just watch out for my stomach.” Olivia began stroking Rumpelteazer, who contently purred louder.
“She’s starting to get fat,” Bobbi noted. “We may have to put her on a diet.”
Rumpel tried to growl but it was drowned out by her purrs. She was set down on the ground as Bobbi said that it was time for the girls to get to school. The two cats watched as their owners left.
“Can you believe her Mungo? She said that I was fat!” Rumpel grumbled. “It’s the kittens, not me.”
“I know love,” He said as he licked her cheek. “Come on, Teazer, let’s go get some breakfast.”
The two walked across the cold kitchen floor to their bowls of cat food. They began to eat in peace for a minute until Rumpel felt a cramp in her side. She winced in pain but it soon passed. Although it came back a few minutes later; Jerrie noticed this time.
“Are you okay,” he asked warily.
“It feels like I just got clawed... now it doesn’t.” She explained. “It’s the weirdest thing. I...” she said before she doubled over in pain.
“What’s wrong?” Mungo asked; more worried this time.
“Jerrie, go get Jenny,” Rumpel gasped. “I’ll be in the basement.”
Jerrie froze for a moment before taking off. Trying to figure out what she was talking about but he soon clued in. He ran as fast as he could out of the house and across numerous streets, rarely stopping. He tore into the junkyard, skidding to a halt in the center.
“JENNY” Mungo yelled as he tried to breath. “JENNY”
“Jerrie what’s wrong,” Jellylorum asked as she came into view.
“Mom, I need Jennyanydots.... Rumpelteazer.... kittens” He gasped. He mother turned around in search of them Gumbie cat as other began to appear; curious to what they yelling was about. Soon the Gumbie cat bustled out of her box. After making sure that she had everything that she needed; she, Jerrie, and the whole tribe began to make their way towards Victoria Groves. Mungojerrie panted as they ran, trying to fill them in on what happened that morning. Several people stopped and watched as a dozen cats ran across the street and to the back of the house. Jenny ran through the downstairs door and shut it; leaving the rest of them outside. Mungojerrie’s ears flattened to his head as he heard his mate’s screams of pain.
“Don’t worry Mungo,” Munkustrap comforted. “She’ll be fine.”
“I heard this story about a queen who gave birth to 23 kittens once. She was in labor for two days.” Tugger said, as he thought aloud. Rumpel screamed again from inside as Jerrie laid his head down on his paws. Tugger slinked back as he received several glares from the cats. They continued to wait until long into the afternoon; some of them took naps, others tried talking; Mungojerrie, however, stayed silent and still. Tantomile and Coricopat were curled up in a ball near the back to the yard, sleeping peacefully; an indoor yell was heard and the two awoke, looking rather scared.
“Something is wrong,” They said at the same time. The yard, and as far as they could tell, the house, became deathly quiet for a minute. Nothing moved and the only thing that was heard was Mungo’s heartbeat in his ears before another shout rang through. The twins walked up towards Mungo and sat on either side of him.
“What’s wrong,” he asked them; fearfully. ‘Please let Teazer be okay’ he prayed to himself.
“We’re not certain” They confessed as they closed their eyes; and tried to sense the danger from the basement. After another agonizing half hour, Jennyanydots stepped out as the other cats came to life and crowded around. Mungojerrie could feel himself shaking with anticipation.
“Congratulations Mungo” Jenny breathed. “Rumpel gave birth to three kits; two queens and a tom.” The crowd began to murmur with excited voices. “But, one of the queens didn’t make it. I tried everything I could think of but the other two were coming as well. From what I could tell she’s was stillborn from the Pollicle attack.” She slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry”
“How’s Teazer doing,” Mungo asked quietly.
“She’s fine. You can go see her if you want.” She offered as she led him inside. She went to the other side of the basement as Mungo slowly approached his worn out mate. She looked rather peaceful; eyes closed and sprawled out on her back on a pile of pillows with a blanket covering her. He sat down beside her and grabbed her paw, causing her eyes to flutter open.
“Hey” She breathed; a small smile on her lips.
“Hey love... How are you feeling?” He asked quietly.
“Fine I suppose” Teazer said before she paused. “Did Jenny tell you?”
“Yeah,” He nodded sadly. Silence fell upon them again as Rumpel squeezed Jerrie’s paw, getting his attention.
“I named her already,” Rumpelteazer said with a sad smile. “Precious.”
“It’s perfect... what about the others?” He asked with a sigh.
“I was thinking about naming the tom Varley... after Aconite. He wrote in his journal that it was his birth name. And the queen, Gibb; after my mom.”
“Varley and Gibb ... I love it.” He said as he gave her a lick and Jennyanydots appeared with two small bundles. She handed Mungo a mainly black calico cat and an orange tabby with black stripes to Rumpel.
“How are they Jenny,” Rumpel asked, still in a tizzy after her experience with her first born.
“They’re fine. The queen’s a bit smaller then the tom but she’ll grow” Jenny reported as she gently stroked the head of the kitten that Rumpel was holding. They heard a gentle knocking on the door as Demeter poked her head inside.
“Can we come in?” She asked timidly. The three nodded as the group entered, trying to see the new arrivals.
“Oh my gosh,” Etcetera said quietly. “They’re so tiny.”
“You were once that small” Bombalurina informed the kitten.
“They’re gorgeous” Mistofelees smiled.
“Do you want to hold one Mom,” Mungojerrie asked as he handed his mother the kitten he was holding.
“My first grandkit,” Jellylorum crooned. “What’s its name?”
“You’re holding Varley,” Rumpelteazer said. “This one is Gibb. Do you want to hold your great-grandkit Gus?”
The old theater cat smiled and held the small ball of fur with experience. His paws trembling slightly from his palsy stopped as he rocked the kitten. A smile broke out on his face as the other gathered around to look at the new Jellicles.
“Uh... Munkustrap,” Rumpelteazer stammered. “Can... can we give Precious a proper burial and possibly send her to the Heavyside Layer?”
“Precious?” Munkustrap mouthed as he looked at the twins. The two looked over at a small shoe box that Jenny was covering with a blanket. He nodded as he began to understand. “Sure Rumpel, I’ll make sure she gets there; don’t worry.”
“Thank-you,” Teazer mouthed as she gave him a hug. Mungojerrie nodded his thanks; not as open with his emotions as Rumpel was. They heard heavy footsteps above them as they all arched their backs defensively.
“The Humans are back,” Mungo sighed. “They’d have a fit if they saw all of you down here. We’ll stop by the junkyard as soon as possible.”
The cats nodded in agreement as they began to leave; Alonzo and Munkustrap lifted up the shoebox and carried it out. Mungojerrie laid the kittens down next to their mom and quietly closed the door after bidding them all goodbye. He could hear the girls calling for him and Rumpelteazer. He walked over to the bottom of the stairs and starting meowing.
“Jerrie is that you” Lydia asked as she opened the upstairs door. “You silly kitty, what are you doing down here? Is Teazer with you?”
Jerrie meowed a reply and waited for the little one to reach the bottom of the stairs. He trotted over to the pillows as Lydia’s eyes grew wide. She turned around and proceeded to yell.
“Mom! Olivia! Come here! Quick!” The two did so, making quite a bit of racket as they moved. “They had kittens.”
“Oh my goodness,” Bobbi said as she knelt down by the four cats, two of them who began to nurse.
“They’re so cute” Olivia crooned. “Can we keep them mom?”
“I’ll talk it over with your father. After all, these two are destructive enough. Although the kittens may calm them down, or at least wear them out.”
“Did you name them,” Lydia asked teasingly as Mungo nodded. Lydia began to guess the most ludicrous name, causing Mungo to growl.
“I’ll write it out for them tomorrow okay love” Rumpel half sighed as he laid down beside her. Bobbi and the two girls went upstairs, allowing the duo to have some time with their kittens that were currently sleeping. Jerrie felt his mate move as she began to clean Varley. He propped himself up as he began to do the same to his daughter. After a few minutes the little kittens were clean and the two Jellicle cats were sleeping, wrapped in the blankets and purring contently.
A few weeks had passed, four to be exact, and Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer were circling Gibb and Varley, lovingly named Jo and Drew by their pets, glaring at them. The pets convinced Fish Man Frank to allow them to keep the kittens. The kittens stared ahead, looking at their parents every now and then but only receiving a fiercer glare. They tried their best to stay still; inheriting their mother’s energy was not helping them, and tended to fidget every few seconds.
“Where is it?” Mungojerrie asked as he stopped in front of Varley.
“Where’s what?” the kitten tom asked, staring at his father.
“You know what,” Rumpelteazer proclaimed. “Where’s the yarn at?”
“We didn’t see it,” Gibb spoke, very firmly. The parents continued to stare at their kits before nodding in approval.
“Good job, now get ready.” Jerrie said as he picked Varley up by the scruff of his neck and revealed the ball of yarn he was sitting on. Teazer rolled it back to the pile by rocking chair.
“Why did we have to do that again,” Gibb asked as she bounded by her brother.
“Incase you two inherited a love of thieving like me and your mother. Half the fun of it is not getting caught. We were just preparing you.” Jerrie said as he nudged the window open. He picked up his son once more and jumped out as Rumpel landed with Gibb in her mouth. They allowed the kittens to run around in the lush yard for a bit as they breathed in the fresh air and the smell of freshly cut grass. The tablicos picked up their off springs once more and brought them across several roads. They dropped them off outside a rather high chain link fence; the kittens walked the length of it between their parents. They took in the smells and the feel of concrete beneath their padded paws. They continued to follow their parents but broke free once they spotted ‘uncle’ Tugger and ‘uncle’ Mistofelees who would always stop by to see them when the humans were gone. Gibb ran for the mane cat with few steps and didn’t properly stop until she ran into his leg. The tom picked her up, sat her on his lap and continued to flirt with the other queens and princesses. Varley went straight for the two toned Tom saying that he learned a magic trick. The kitten pointed at a rock and told the elder to close his eyes; he threw the rock away and cried ‘abracadabra’ and allowed the Tom to see again. He smiled profoundly as his idol acted surprised and requested to know how it was done.
The parents perched themselves on top of a pile with Jennyanydots and Jellylorum who were crocheting. The two queens smiled warmly at the cats who returned after a two month leave; although Mungojerrie was still seen around from time to time Rumpel wasn’t.
“How are you dear,” Jenny asked as she continued on her crochet.
“A little tired, they have too much energy” Rumpelteazer admitted as she began to talk about the kittens.
“They’ll do that to you for a while” Jelly said as she started a new ball of yarn. “But once they get older they’ll start taking care of themselves.”
“So did we miss anything while we were gone?” Mungojerrie asked as he stretched out in the sun and closed his eyes; rather relaxed.
“No not too much, Tugger and Bombalurina fought again... I think that’s it. Although most of us missed your antics; even though we didn’t admit it, the junkyard was just too quiet.” Jellylorum mussed.
“That’s not all,” Jenny said. “A cat came looking for you Rumpel. She was disappointed that you weren’t here and wanted us to tell you that she’ll be waiting in the field... and block B, cell 4.” She added as she cast a quizzical look at Rumpelteazer.
“B4...” Teazer repeated to herself. “That was... ” She gasped as her eyes became wide in realization. “Do you mind watching the kits while I run out?”
“Does this have anything to do with Macavity?” Jerrie accused as he glared at her.
“Well... not exactly.” She stammered. “But it’s really important Jerrie; trust me or come with me. Your choice, either way I have to go to the field.”
“I’m coming,” Jerrie said as he stood up and looked at the two older queens “As long as you don’t mind watching the kittens for an hour or so.”
“Just don’t get into trouble” Jellylorum said sternly. The two nodded and Rumpel jumped down and began her way out of the Yard with Mungo close behind her.
“So what’s so important about B4?” Mungojerrie asked as they crossed a road and found themselves in a more rural part of the town.
“I worked in cell block B and in the fourth cell is where mine and Aconite’s baby was” Rumpel explained as Jerrie stopped dead in his tracks.
“What” he hissed as his mate turned around.
“Not that kind of baby Mungo,” Rumpel reasoned. “But we raised her. She was brought there when she was a month old. Just like Gibb. She still needed to be taken care of and I was the one on duty when Aconite brought her in, I was only six months old at the time, so was Aconite. He took her from the A block because the guards there were abusing her and he knew that she deserved better. So we began to take care of her; singing to her when she couldn’t sleep; keeping her company when the storms frightened her; making sure she got enough food; watching her when she was sick...”
“Sounds a lot like what you do for the kittens at the Yard” Mungo recognized.
“It is; the only difference is that she was the only kitten there.” Rumpel insisted as they began walking again. “So she was the baby of the group; our baby if you will. I’m not sure why Macavity allowed us to keep her, hopefully not for his pleasure.”
Mungo nodded silently as they came up to an overgrown field that was oh-too- familiar to Rumpelteazer and rather ordinary to Mungojerrie. She slowly began her way in and stopped at a fork, with two well worn out paths, only to be separated by a piece of glass that used to scare Rumpelteazer late at night.
“Jelly Belly Beanie Baby” Rumpel called softly. “Jellybean, where are you?”
A rustle and foot steps were heard as Mungojerrie began to hiss. The steps stopped as the ground became silent once more.
“Don’t be afraid Jellybean,” Rumpel coaxed. “It’s safe, it’s only Mungojerrie.” She paused for a few moments; silence remained, her words obviously not convincing her that it was safe. “Midnight,” Rumpel sang delicately. “Not a sound from the pavement. Has the moon lost her memory?”
“She is smiling alone” a sweet voice rang out. An orange spotted queen came into view and ran to Rumpelteazer as fast as she could. Rumpelteazer hugged the smaller queen happily who began to cry.
“Are you alright Sweetie” Rumpel asked as she wiped away the queen’s tears.
“Yeah, it’s just that... Well you left and then Aconite died... and Mitcha was freed and... I was so scared.” Jellybean cried as she hugged her again.
“Bean, its okay, don’t worry.” Rumpelteazer comforted. “When was Mitcha freed?”
“About a month ago” Jellybean sobbed. “From what I was told; she found out that she was pregnant with Macavity’s kittens and she killed herself. She didn’t want to be the reason he got an heir.”
“She’s gone...” Teazer asked as her voice broke; remembering her best friend. She felt Jellybean nod into her chest as tears dampened it. Teazer placed a tender kiss on the young one’s head before she began to cry herself. She felt Mungojerrie’s strong arms wrap comfortingly around her.
“Who’s that?” Jellybean asked as she stopped crying and looked up at the tom.
“This is my mate, Mungojerrie. Mungo, this is Jellybean; my adoptive daughter.” As Mungo extended his paw to greet her as she did the same. “Where are you staying?”
“I was hoping that you would know somewhere that I could go.” She said timidly.
“Do you suppose that Deuteronomy...” Rumpel began as she looked at her mate.
“It’s worth a shot,” Mungo said, knowing what she was thinking. “Come on Jellybean, I think that we have the perfect spot for you.”
“So you have your own kits,” Jellybean asked, marveled as she was shown her new home.
“Yes, Varley and Gibb” Mungojerrie said as he tried to fill in his new ‘daughter’ as much as he could. Rumpelteazer smiled as she watched the two talk. Jellybean was accepted and Mungojerrie adopted her as his daughter, much like she did over a year ago. She quickly became friends with Etcetera who shared the same energy and her little siblings who like the idea of someone that could stand up for them. ‘She’s alright Aconite...’ Teazer thought to herself, hoping that it would reach her departed friend. ‘And I promise you that she always will be. I’m not getting rid of the pearls like you and Mitcha got rid of yourselves. I’m keeping them... I only wish that you would have thought a bit straighter; then maybe I could be telling you this in person. It’s amazing how your past always become your future now isn’t it.’ She felt a tear roll down her cheek. ‘I miss you, and just for the record, I did love you...’ She watched Jerrie trying to fight off his kits while begging for mercy and then setting them loose on Alonzo. ‘But I love Jerrie so much more’ She thought as she nuzzled her head against his and watched the sun set on their family.